am I the only decluttering/simplifying person who struggles with this?

[snugglebutter]

Sometimes I just have the worst attitude about gifts - or the random stuff my mom and MIL bring over to our house. I am always nice and say thank you, but a voice inside my head often says "oh, something else to get rid of!"

[Bonny]

well, at least you are getting rid of them, and not storing them for many guilt ridden years, like I usually do LOL

[KariAnn]

I feel the same way. I love my friends and family, but seriously, don't waste your money on crap that I will eventually be getting rid of!!! I would prefer to receive nothing more than a card or acknowledgment. Oh well. I guess it could be worse. I could be someone no one thinks about and get nothing!

[Ruthla]

I felt this today, when DD was opening up birthday gifts!

"Ugh, more crap to try and find room for."
"Another article of clothing she'll never wear- can I return it or should I just donate it someplace? I can't find a gift receipt!"
"Yeah!! Gift cards! She can pick out something she'll actually use!!"

Of course I kept all these thoughts to myself.

[snugglebutter]

Originally Posted by Bonny

well, at least you are getting rid of them, and not storing them for many guilt ridden years, like I usually do LOL

I do store away some things, but it's a shrinking pile.

[Breathless Wonder]

I've come to hate Christmas because of this! It's really sad.

[mightymoo]

Yup, I feel terrible because that is pretty much how I feel about anything my grandmother gives me. She's a sweetheart, but she shops at the dollar store and generally anything she finds is so thoughtful, but crappy. I decorated my kitchen in warm red and sunset yellow with a sunflower picture I took hanging on the wall. My mom told my grandma this so now she gets me sunflower stuff for my kitchen whenever hse sees it. However, it all is green and yellow and doens't match, not to mention I like having one sunflower not 20. Oh well.

They don't have a lot of money,so I hate thinking she spent it for waste, but I remind myself that finding little things for us makes us happy and she has no idea that they go to waste anyway, so she's happy and I love the gesture, I just wish we could do it without the dollar store being in the middle. Sigh.

[Jennisee]

A huge yes from me! It just kills me that I put so much thought, research, time, and effort into bringing one item into my home, and then suddenly someone gives us ten items that we don't need or want. I feel bad about the clutter and stress it's going to cause me, I feel bad about the wasteful overconsumption, and I feel bad about the money that the other person wasted. I recently did the math and my DD probably gets 75 presents each year between Christmas, birthday, and minor holidays! Honestly, I'm at the point where I would just rather people not get us anything. I've tried getting our families to cut back, but it just makes them angry, which makes me feel unheard and resentful. Sigh...

[fiesta'smom]

I've tried getting our families to cut back, but it just makes them angry, which makes me feel unheard and resentful. Sigh...

My grandkids have so much stuff too! Last year for Christmas we bought each family a pass to the Museum of Nature and Science and one small gift for each grandchild. It sure was nice for everyone involved. I've also thought of doing play tickets, Children's Museum passes, zoo passes, etc.

And yes, I too have a dear friend that brings me tons of stuff. It's so much stuff that she usually hauls it over in a black plastic trash bag. I've told her that I love the thought, but that I don't even have room for some of my beloved belongings that are currently stored in my basement. It has helped some...but not much. Her heart is pure gold, but I don't dare let it slip that I have a yard sale coming up, because there are an awful lot of things in the sale that came from her. At least I told her how I felt I guess!

[ErikaLeigh]

I've learned not to feel bad about it.

If someone comes over and likes it, take it home!

I have thrown away so much crap in the last few days!

[LilWin]

I definitely have those thoughts. I also have told all my friends and family over the years when it came up that I don't want any decorating gifts. They all stick to it. I'm glad gift certificates are huge in my family! I've also made stuff "disappear". But I agree that when you get a gift that's another item that adds to the clutter, these thoughts take away the moment in which you should be thankful that someone was so kind and generous to think of you (or DC) and get you a gift. I say thank you but I'm sure it doesn't reflect in my eyes that I'm happy with it, I think, and that feels bad because I do appreciate the thought behind the gift.
I get so tired of all those gifts anyway, I'm just happy to see people and they don't need to bring anything! And I definitely don't want DD to learn that every time someone comes to see her, she gets something.

[Penelope]

This year was the first one in years that I didn't get some ugly, ill-fitting, polyester sweater from MIL. Instead I got a gc to a local nursery, which I spent happily on shrubs.

I think conditioning them to get you gc or museum passes or the like is key. You might have to be creative, but it's much better than the guilt and wasted money, yk?

[Red]

A few thoughts.

I wish some one of my relatives would give me a bunch of stuff! Even used stuff! (Send those bags to me!) On the few occassions this happened to us, we jsut went through, took what we loved and took the rest to our 'free-store'. (A place at the dump for unwanted, usable items.) I love getting stuff.


My mother used to buy a bunch of cheap (dollar store) gifts, but then started giving me money to do the shopping for her. I bought museum passes, etc.

Now, no one gives us stuff. :

As far as B'day gifts, I feel that it's a roll of the dice. You might like it or hate it. If I hate it, I get rid of it. No guilt. It just dissappears. But I love the build up tyo opening it....the pretty wrapping, teh thought that went into it, the idea that someone shopped FOR ME!



As for the kids b'days, often something I thopught they'd hate wound up ceing their favorite thing! And they learned how to appear grateful, even when they weren't!


Just pack all that stuff up and mail it to me!

[hibana]

I dread gifts from my mother-in-law. Everyone else who would give us gifts knows what books we like, or has similar tastes... so we get a few cool things we actually use. MIL shows her love with stuff, in quantity. For dd, it is generally plastic. She comes over a lot and expects to see all the stuff out and being used... I fear the onslaught of videos we will undoubtedly recieve, to make up for the fact that we don't get/watch tv.

I feel bad about this, because I know she is trying to be helpful and caring... but I know it is going to get worse... my kiddos will be her last grandchildren, so she intends to spoil them.

/mil rant... sorry ladies...

[Amys1st]

I have been trying unseccessfuly for years now to stop exchanging at the holidays w SIL and brother. He dosent care, but SIL loves to spend money. When we give something to her family, we never see it again. Dont know if its returned, given away etc.
At my house, we dont need more stuff, it might not be something I necessarily want for my kids, or its just too over the top. She does the same for me and dh. A lot of times w dh he will want to return whatever is given to him or I should say 90% of the time he wants to return what is given to him. So if its a holiday, if we return it- its a store credit, nothing fits him, then the credit sits beyond expirotation, or the item sits in our room until someone returns it....usually me and then the credit it about $8!

So I have said, please dont buy us things, we dont want to exchange- we are trying to simplify our life you name it. So now its- well I am giving you something even though its not an exchange. It goes on and on..

[Red]

Amys1st, since you don't want to exchange and you never see the items you've bought at SIL's house, why not just donate whatever she buys to someone else. Goodwill? If you take it in and get a receipt, you could get a tax write off for it!

[GoonieMom]

return stuff to Walmart!

I can't tell you how much stuff I've taken to Walmart and 9 times out of 10 they take it! I did this with diapers and other gifts after my baby showers, since I was using cloth. I know it will get harder to return/trash gifts for the kids as they grow older, but for now I have no shame! I'd rather take the credit at the store and be able to buy things we actually need... (and hope the relative never asks about the gift!!)

[maciascl]

Add me to that list too!! Actually my 1st thought is usually how long before this pick of just falls apart. Saddly I'm usually relieved when it does fall apart, then I can get rid of it guilt free :

[Cardinal]

We have the same problem. I so appreciate when someone says, "What shall I get your DS for his birthday/Christmas/holiday?" Then I can say, "He needs shorts, size 2T" or whatever. I hate when people just assume I'll want an ICEE MAKER that says, "Ages 7 and up" for my 2 year old. Oh, and yes, I can tell that you already opened it up! Agh. So frustrating. I can always tell when people re-gift to us, too. It's so obvious.

[zeldabee]

Mostly I have no problem just donating most of the gifts we get, and I don't feel the slightest twinge about it. My only problem is that my sister lives nearby, and she tends to hang on to gifts that she gives. She wants to come to my house and see [gift x] prominently displayed or in use. If she doesn't see it, she'll ask, e.g., "Where's that cute stuffed moose I gave Sprogly?" If I explain that Sprogly's not that into stuffed animals, except for his favorite stuffed dog, she's miffed. She goes on lots of teacher conference trips, and always brings back junk--useless plastic gadgets for the kitchen, cheap plastic toys--and says as she's giving them, "Oh, this is a silly stupid gift. I don't know why I got it. Ha ha ha." Then the next time she comes to the house, she asks about it. It drives me crazy, and I've told her so.

I mean, we're pretty close. We've had whole conversations about how I'm trying to simplify, and get rid of all the plastic stuff in my kitchen, etc. Whole conversations about how much stuff I'm purging. She came over before my recent move, and looked into a box of stuff for Goodwill. She saw a plastic pasta server thing with a handle like Mickey Mouse in there, that she'd brought back from Disney Land (or World, whatever), and she said something snippy about it. I've told her, if you give me a gift, once it comes in my house, it's mine to do what I like with it. If I want it gone, it's gone.

At Christmas, before coming home from my parents', I packed all the gifts separately: keep, return, donate. The ones in the 'donate' bag didn't even come into the house. Mind you, I've been very up front about not wanting battery-operated plastic toys for Sprogly, so everyone's had fair warning. It's a shameful waste, but I don't want the stuff.

I just moved into a place that's about 100 square feet smaller, with no garage. I'm going to have to be even more ruthless in getting rid of the stuff I already have, never mind the stuff we're given.